“If I speak, I’ll get into trouble”... Pollard on the umpiring controversy

On September 20 (Friday), chaos broke out in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024 when Antigua And Barbuda Falcons all-rounder Imad Wasim was at the centre of an LBW controversy. After the left-hander was given not-out initially, third umpire Nigel Duguid overturned the decision to give him out. 

However, that wasn’t the end of it; Wasim was later recalled to bat, which sparked off a lengthy conversation between Trinbago Knight Riders’ skipper Kieron Pollard and the on-field umpires, leading to a long delay. 

So, what exactly happened for the chaos to burst?

In the ninth over of the innings, Wasim, in an attempt to defend Sunil Narine, was caught in front of the stumps. While Narine and Pollard believed that it was the ball hitting the pad first, Wasim was confident that the ball had hit the bat. The on-field umpire, Christopher Taylor, had given it not-out first before the third umpire overturned the decision. 

However, much to the shock of Wasim, it was visibly displayed on the big screen that the Pakistan batter had got a bit of blade on the ball. At one point, Wasim was so confident that he wanted to utilise his review to prove that there was a bit of bat. 

It didn’t stop there as the umpire eventually reversed the third umpire's decision to recall Wasim back to the crease, starting this entire saga. Much to TKR's dismay, it was Wasim who scored an unbeaten 27-ball 36 to take his team home. In the post-match presentation, a visibly angry Pollard hit out at the umpires without taking their names. 

"If I speak, I'll get into trouble. So I better stay quiet on that," Pollard said in the post-match presentation, hinting at the decision. 

On the other hand, Falcons’ skipper Chris Green too indicated that Wasim was given ‘out’ when there was no reason to rule the decision against him. 

"Chaos, absolute chaos," Green said. "I don't know what went on. He was given out when he shouldn't have been, and then he stood over the rope and he probably shouldn't have - but he was told to. Absolute chaos. I don't know what happened, but this tournament continues to entertain in different ways... really happy with the win. We outplayed them in all facets of the game tonight, and we thoroughly deserve that win."

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